Atran prepares for resumption of 737-400SF service

Atran is preparing to resume commercial 737-400SF operations more than four years after sanctions forced the Russia-based carrier to suspend flights with its Boeing freighters. One of Atran’s 737-400SFs (28663) completed a two-hour check flight on Aug. 28 from Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport (VKO), where it had been stored since February 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine . [caption id="attachment_57298850" align="aligncenter" width="1180"] Atran operated four 737-400SFs before being hit with sanctions. (Courtesy/Atran)[/caption] The 1997-vintage unit 28663 was reactivated from storage and underwent heavy maintenance checks as part of preparations to redeploy it in commercial service in October after Atran completes recertification of its AOC, according to Russian aviation publication RuAviation. The carrier had targeted a 2025 restart before postponing that to 2026, and expects the resumed operation to become profitable in 2027, the report said. A second Atran 737-400SF (29001) remains in storage and has been parked in Cologne, Germany (CGN), since February 2022, Cargo Facts previously reported. Atran fleet movement Atran had been part of Volga-Dnepr Group and, just before the war, operated six 737-800BCFs and four 737-400SFs. The six -800BCFs, owned by AerCap, were removed from Atran’s fleet as part of an insurance settlement between AerCap and Volga-Dnepr. They were acquired by Russia-based NLC Finance, which placed two with Russian carrier Rossiya and four with Russia-based Pobeda for spare parts, Oleksandr Laneckij, director of Friendly Avia Support, a Lithuania-based consulting and technical support group, told Cargo Facts. One of the 737-400SFs (28758) joined Armenia-based startup Hayways in 2023, while another (28752) reentered service with Kalitta Charters II after the Ypsilanti, Mich.-based carrier purchased it in December 2023. Evgeny Solodilin, former chief executive of Moscow’s Zhukovsky Airport and Russian airline Red Wings, acquired Atran this year along with Volga-Dnepr Moscow and AirBridgeCargo , previously also affiliated with Volga-Dnepr Group, Laneckij said. Atran may decide to redeploy its two remaining 737-400SFs to cities including Moscow, Novosibirsk, Norilsk and Murmansk, he added. Russian MRO support Even before the war began in 2022, there had been several large MROs in Russia capable of performing all forms of maintenance on 737s, Laneckij said . They included S7 Engineering, part of the S7 Airlines group; A-Technics, part of the Aeroflot Group; and UTair Engineering, part of the UTair group. After the war began, several more MROs capable of servicing these aircraft were launched in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, Laneckij said. Sanctions against Russia prohibit any carrier in the country from receiving maintenance support from Western countries, but the country’s Federal Air Transport Agency issued approvals to Russian MROs to carry out maintenance on Western-built aircraft after the war began, Boris Rybak, founder and chief executive of Seattle-based Mark Comm consultant agency, told Cargo Facts. Rybak, who was personal consultant to former Volga-Dnepr owner Alexey Isaykin, said he does not believe the Atran 737-400SFs returning to service will support long-term operations. The only Russian carrier operating 737 freighters is S7 Airlines with two 737-800BCFs (29939 and 33545) it had previously leased from AerCap. Cargo Facts Symposium 2026, the premier event for the freighter aircraft and air cargo industries, will take place in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21-23. Find out more and register by Sept. 4 to take advantage of early-bird pricing.

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